Amnesty, Help At Treatment Center Part Of Program GALENA, Kan. - Galena police Chief Troy Newman is making an offer to residents addicted to methamphetamine or other drugs - seek help from police, and officers will get them into treatment with no strings attached. Here's Newman's deal: If someone comes to him seeking help, the addict will not be questioned about who their supplier is or who else they know who uses drugs. If the person wants to volunteer it, Newman said he will take the information. [continues 827 words]
COLUMBUS, Kan. - An advertisement airing on a local television station begins with the words "Methamphetamine can open doors." It shows a needle piercing a vein. The next scene shows two men sitting at a dining-room table with children. Then comes a voice-over, "Let's hope it's not yours," as gung-ho police storm into the house, arrest the men and remove the children. The final scene encourages viewers to call Cherokee County Sheriff Bob Creech or local police if they suspect methamphetamine use in their neighborhoods. [continues 273 words]
Two area Kansas school boards on Monday are expected to approve drug- and alcohol-testing policies for pupils involved in extracurricular activities. If approved, new policies at Galena and Baxter Springs would take effect at the beginning of the next school year. The policies for both school districts are similar. Both are based partly on a pupil drug-testing policy in place in Columbus. The Columbus School District does not test pupils for alcohol use, however. The policies apply to pupils in grades seven through 12 who are involved in extracurricular or co-curricular activities - sports, band, school clubs, school dances, theater and chess teams. [continues 523 words]
The death of 14-year-old Ashley Villarreal in a drug stakeout raises interesting questions. Why was the family not concerned that a 14-year old was "planning to move the car to the back of the house" when, by Texas law, a driver must be at least 15 to even have a learner's permit? Why wasn't the 44-year-old man in the car arrested for allowing a 14-year old to drive? Ashley's family allowed her to break the law and thrust her into her unfortunate position. If Ashley and her family had obeyed the law, she would be alive today. Roger McKinney [end]
Police say the lure of methamphetamine is so strong that users neglect everything, including their children. And, the drug is a prevalent force in the region. Newton County Sheriff Ron Doerge said his department has made 50 methamphetamine seizures in Newton County so far this year. The El Paso Intelligence Center's National Clandestine Laboratory Seizure System reported 888 meth-lab seizures in Missouri this year, through Nov. 30. Missouri is second only to California, where 1,387 meth-lab seizures were reported through Nov. 30. [continues 512 words]
COLUMBUS, Kan. - The federal Department of Justice has awarded a $222,000 grant to the Cherokee County Sheriff's Department to help with its battle against methamphetamine. Sheriff Bob Creech said the grant, from the department's office of Community Oriented Policing Services, or COPS, will allow his department to purchase equipment it could not otherwise afford. He said the Justice Department awarded the grants to police agencies in "meth hot spots." The grant will fund the purchase of safety equipment, including wireless microphones, respirators and night-vision binoculars. Creech said it will also pay for brochures and other materials to promote public awareness. Laptop computers and car video cameras are other purchases that the grant will fund, he said. [continues 52 words]
Columbus Schools' Policy Receives Favor Of Parents, Court COLUMBUS, Kan. - Ken Jones may have breathed a sigh of relief in June when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that drug testing for students in extracurricular activities doesn't violate any Constitutional freedoms. Jones is superintendent of the Columbus School District, which has performed random drug testing on students for the past two years. The policy covers students in grades seven through 12 who participate in any extracurricular activity, even school dances. [continues 1179 words]
Motion Seeks Use Of Evidence In Case Against Ex-Treasurer COLUMBUS, Kan. - A special prosecutor has appealed a judge's suppression of evidence in the drug case against former Cherokee County Treasurer Sharon Carpino. Carpino's attorney, Edward Battitori, said Thursday that special prosecutor Steven Angermayer has appealed Judge John White's ruling on the evidence to the Kansas Court of Appeals. White is an Allen County judge assigned to the case. Battitori said he had talked with his client about the situation earlier in the day. [continues 180 words]
Special Prosecutor Plans To Pursue Case Against Ex-Treasurer COLUMBUS, Kan. - In a strongly worded ruling, Judge John White on Friday suppressed evidence in the drug case against former Cherokee County Treasurer Sharon Carpino. "When a law enforcement officer stoops to the level that was done in this case, there has to be some action taken to eliminate that activity," White said. The law enforcement officer White indirectly referred to is former Cherokee County Deputy Sheriff Roger Wormington. In another aspect of the case, Sheriff Bob Creech testified that he wrote a letter to a Kansas Bureau of Investigation agent requesting that the KBI delay an investigation of Wormington until after the November 2000 election in which he was making a bid for a second term. [continues 1150 words]
Prosecutor to weigh drug charges against Kansas official's wife By Roger McKinney Globe Staff Writer A special prosecutor has been named to examine possible drug charges against the wife of a Cherokee County commissioner. County Attorney JoAnna Derfelt has assigned Joplin, Mo., attorney Dean Wilson to the case of Pam Collins, arrested Dec. 11 for suspicion of methamphetamine possession after a traffic stop. She is the wife of Pat Collins, chairman of the Cherokee County Commission and former sheriff. Wilson said he has filed no charges, but has the investigative file and is looking into the possibility of filing charges. He would not comment on the status of the investigation. [continues 159 words]
Allegations Politically Motivated, Officer Says COLUMBUS, Kan. - Cherokee County Sheriff Bob Creech said he is keeping his options open regarding the possibility of rehiring former Deputy Roger Wormington. "I'm not ruling it out," Creech said. "He is a commissioned law enforcement officer. I don't have any immediate plans to hire him. If there's an opening and he's available, I would consider him." Wormington on Jan. 15 swore a new oath to serve as deputy sheriff in the county, but he is not currently a county employee. [continues 364 words]
Ex-Kansas Lawman Had Been Accused Of Falsifying Evidence COLUMBUS, Kan. - A Cherokee County sheriff's deputy who resigned amid allegations that he falsified information in criminal cases has taken a new oath as a deputy in the same county. Roger Wormington on Jan. 15 signed the oath, administered by Karen Cannon, deputy county clerk. "I, Roger Wormington, do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Kansas, and faithfully discharge the duties of deputy sheriff, so help me God," the oath reads. [continues 360 words]
Hearing Halted COLUMBUS, Kan. - A pretrial motions hearing in Cherokee County District Court on Friday in the drug-possession case of former Cherokee County Treasurer Sharon Carpino ground to a halt after one witness. Judge John White asked the location of pages missing from an informant's agreement the sheriff's department made with Carpino. "That document appears to me to be promises made to her," said White, assigned to the case from Allen County. The missing pages apparently describe the sheriff's department's promises to Carpino in return for her acting as an informant in drug cases. [continues 802 words]
Conduct Rules Score With Teens There's a new code of conduct for Joplin High School students who participate in athletics, dance, cheerleading, pompon, speech and debate, vocal music and instrumental music. And, at least in part, some students say they are in agreement with the new policy. Adopted Nov. 13 by the Joplin R-8 Board of Education, the policy outlines punishments for violations that include use of alcohol, drug use or possession, tobacco use or possession, and felony and misdemeanor violations. The policy is similar to citizenship codes in other area schools, and is aimed specifically at students who participate in extracurricular activities. [continues 1098 words]
